Sensex down; Tata Motors, Sun Pharma drag

New Delhi: As a result of disappointed December-quarter earnings by major players, Indian shares fell on Wednesday, with Tata Motors and Sun Pharmaceutical Industries weighing on the indexes.

Tata Motors fell as much as 8.6 percent to its lowest since Dec 7, 2016 after the automaker on Tuesday reported a worse-than-expected 96 percent fall in December-quarter profit, citing sharply lower earnings at Jaguar Land Rover (JLR) and losses in its domestic business. 

Sun Pharmaceutical fell as much as 3.4 percent after reporting its first fall in quarterly profits in a year on Tuesday, as pricing issues and supply constraints affected sales in the U.S. - its largest market. 

"We will see a drop-curtain on earnings; not been negative but in line, in some cases better ... We are in a consolidation market for the next week and a half," said Gaurang Shah, Vice President, Geojit Financial Services.

The broader NSE Nifty was down 0.19 percent at8,775.80 as of 0536 GMT, with Tata Motors shaving 19 points off the index. 

The benchmark BSE Sensex was 0.2 percent lower at 28,282.82.

Nifty Auto index was down 1.64 percent, having risen 7.4 percent this year up to Tuesday`s close. 

Nifty Pharma index was down 1.3 percent, led by Sun Pharma and Glenmark Pharmaceuticals , down 1.9 percent. 

The Indian government`s demonetisation move has hit quarterly results of some companies such as DLF Ltd and SpiceJet which reported a fall in December-quarter profit on Tuesday. 

Shares of DLF were down 4.3 percent while SpiceJet fell 6.8 percent. 

With Inputs from Reuters